In class on Wednesday we spoke about situations how Asian American groups combatted situtations to find just situtations. Within Chapter five there was a large protest against the Broadway show, Miss Saigon. The reason for the protest was about how Asian American actors weren’t getting roles for actual Asian roles.
“B.D. Wong was at a dinner party in 1989 with friends who had just seen the show in London. “They said how embarassing it was to see this tall white man perform in “yellow face,” Wong recalled “we were a certian that the role would be recast when it came to New York.”…”We just assumed that Asian American actors would have a chance to be auditioned.”pg. 119 Yellowface became a term that was widely known and used in the acting district. Even though there was a huge list as of Asian American actors who werre qualifed to play roles, yet no one would even let Asian Americans Audition. Yellowface, is a make up technique by caking on make up to make the white actors look Asian, even though Asians do not have yellow faces…(strange huh?) along with caking on make up many actors would tape their eyes to have an apperance of a slant eye. This technique was also used in Breakfest at Tiffineys’.
There became an up roar in with the fact that there wasn’t equality in the acting world. B.D. Wong ended up contacting the Actors Equality, and set up a sub group called Racial Equality. The Racial Equality soon became; Asian Pacific Alliance for Creative Equality (APACE).
So the one thing that just really tweeks me is that, why would you go through the hassel to make a non Asian actor yellowface, wouldn’t it be easier to just find an amazing Asian Actor to play the role?
Okay so my sister did the whole theater thing, and many times people would flip out that someone was type casted, and many times it turned out good, and sometimes it turns out horrible. So taking the type casting idea, I’m pretty sure that type casting in this situtation would be perfectly fine. Wouldn’t you want someone who is good enough to fit the role, be the role?
Or is it all about politics? Well in the situtation in Zia, it was politics and the miss treament of Asian Americans.
One thing that I found somewhat ironic is that B.D. Wong is all about nontraditional casting and was apart of APACE. Yet in Law and Order SVU, Wong plays an Asian Psychologist, and don’t we have a sterotype about Asians being smart and them all becoming doctors? think about that!
tor0584 said,
September 26, 2008 @ 9:57 am
I agree with you completely about the Yellow Face term. I was so angry while reading about it because I just could not understand why anyone would not let an Asian portray themselves and their own culture.